Stealing Recipes from the Italian Islands - Sicilian-Style Cauliflower with Whole Wheat Pasta

After coming back from Italy, I was curious to see what actual recipes I could find online that seemed legitimately Italian. Kevin was asking for some "real Italian" one day, so I set about searching and researching various vegetarian-friendly recipes that could possibly emulate some of the cuisine we had in Italy. Surprisingly enough, most of the recipes were the basic Italian-American fare we have all come to know and love; yet I wanted something different. Something that wasn't the basic spaghetti sauce I normally make (which I love, mind you - it was the first meal I ever cooked by myself, at the ripe age of 9). In my search, I did come across some interesting recipes for said spaghetti sauce that entailed simply tomatoes, meat, basil, and a whole heck of a lot of butter - something I've never added to my own sauce, but am now somewhat interested in trying (though a bit hesitant, as it seems like a lot of unneeded extra fat).
However, I did happen to find a few variations of a Sicilian pasta with cauliflower and raisins that sounded interesting.  Granted, Kevin and I did not make it to Sicily or any other southern region of Italy, but what the heck?

I ended up (somewhat) following a recipe from Food Network, as I had most of the ingredients on hand, and overall it seemed relatively simple. Here is the recipe with my revisions.

Sicilian-Style Cauliflower with Whole Wheat Pasta

Kosher salt, as needed, plus 2 teaspoons
1 pound whole-wheat penne
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
i head cauliflower
1 large shallot, sliced into thin rings
2 cloves garlic, smashed
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
6 tablespoons golden raisins
2 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoon capers
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano (and lets be honest, I used a lot more than this to top it off)

Boil the penne until al dente and put in a large pasta dish.
Meanwhile, mix the cauliflower, shallots, and garlic with 2-3 Tbs olive oil on a large foil lined baking sheet, and stick it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Stir once or twice so that the cauliflower browns a bit but the shallots and garlic don't burn.  In a large saucepan or skillet, put the cauliflower, remaining oil, 2 teaspoons salt, water, vinegar, raisins, honey, capers, thyme, bay leaf, fennel seeds, and season with black pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until cauliflower is fork tender, about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the pine nuts and parsley.
Toss vegetables and pasta together along with the pecorino. Drizzle with additional olive oil, if desired. Serve immediately,adding more cheese at the table if you are like me and always want more cheese.

This was actually pretty good.  All the different flavors - the capers, golden raisins, thyme, fennel - all came together.  It was certainly not "sauce-y" like Kevin generally likes, but overall it was different and yummy.  I served it with roasted green beans fresh from the CSA and focaccia bread. 
Enjoi!